


The Boy Wonder Sees All

by Ruuger



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: 1970s, Backstory, Community: mentalist_bb, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-19
Updated: 2012-01-19
Packaged: 2017-10-29 19:32:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/323335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruuger/pseuds/Ruuger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Patrick Jane, age three, became a psychic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boy Wonder Sees All

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Всевидящий чудо-мальчик](https://archiveofourown.org/works/736462) by [krapivka37](https://archiveofourown.org/users/krapivka37/pseuds/krapivka37)



>   
> 
> 
> Big thanks to snickfic for the lightning-fast beta :)
> 
> Art by dearthursday. [Go leave feedback.](http://dearthursday.livejournal.com/14342.html)

  


"I don't know, Mister Jane. That's an awful lot of money."

Alex watched the recently widowed Mrs. Tyler from the corner of his eye as he poured the tea into two cups. She was a large woman - in girth, hair, and laugh - or at least she probably had been before the loss of her husband. Now she was gaunt and quiet, her neat dress and well-coiffed hair a costume that only barely masked her nervous vulnerability. There was a mess of papers on the table: property titles, utility bills, bank statements; her whole life spread in front of her when she had tried to find that one elusive property deed that she'd wanted him to look at.

He carried the teacups to the table and gave one of them to her, taking a seat next to her.

"The risk is minimal, Mrs. Tyler. In just six months you will have doubled your money, I guarantee it."

She shook her head, her hands compulsively smoothing the papers in front of her. "My husband was always the one who made these kind of decisions. I'm- I'm not sure if he'd approve of this." Her hands went still for a few seconds, then she began to gather the papers into a pile. "I'm sorry, Mister Jane. I can't. I'm-"

"Dad _dyy_!"

Both Alex and Mrs. Tyler looked up when the door suddenly slammed open and a little boy ran into the room. He dashed across the floor and then came into a sudden halt in front of the table when he realised that his father wasn't alone.

Alex stood up. "Patrick, I thought I told you to stay in the other room," he said witha stern voice.

He took a step towards his son, but Patrick slipped past him and ran to the other side of the table, watching him warily, clearly aware of having done something wrong. Alex swore under his breath. He couldn't damn well even slap the boy, not in front of a mark.

"Oh, no, he's no bother," Mrs. Tyler said, leaning forward in her seat to look at the boy. "Do you want to come and say hello to me, Patrick? I think I might have a little treat for you..."

She picked up her purse from the floor and rummaged around in it for a few seconds before taking out a piece of wrapped candy. She held out her hand.

"Here you go, sweetie. You don't have to be scared."

Patrick gave her a suspicious look, and - after glancing his father as well - carefully rounded the table to her. As Patrick started to unwrap the paper, she picked him up and sat him down on her knee. He squirmed for a few seconds, trying to get away, but she didn't let him go.

"Aren't you a handsome little man, Patrick. Can you tell me how old you are?"

Patrick put the candy in his mouth and held up three fingers without looking at her.

Mrs. Tyler ruffled his hair.

"And smart too. Such a precious thing." She looked at Alex, smiling sadly. "My husband and I, we never had any children of our own. Tried for many years, but it just wasn't meant to be."

Alex answered her smile, and sat back down at the table next to her. Thanks to Patrick, Mrs. Tyler had just given the perfect opening. Maybe there was some worth in the boy after all.

"My Patrick's all I have left in this world, since his mother, god rest her soul, passed away. It's just the two of us now." He put his hand on hers and looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure I can't change your mind, Mrs. Tyler? I would much rather have the profit go to a decent woman like you, than some professional investor."

She sighed, and looked away. "I'm sorry, Mister Jane. If my husband were still alive, things might be different, but-"

"Michael," Patrick said suddenly.

Mrs. Tyler went pale. She looked down at the boy in her lap. He had taken the piece of candy out of his mouth and was licking it in his hand.

"Wha- what did you say?"

"Michael," Patrick repeated, kicking his feet in the air.

Alex frowned. "Is everything all right?" He asked, trying to understand what had happened.

Mrs. Tyler looked from Alex to Patrick and back, a stricken look on her face. "I- Michael... My husband's name was Michael. How did he know?"

Alex cast a quick glance at his son. The boy was still licking sugar off his fingers, oblivious to the effect his words had had on the woman. The trick of the confidence game was that you had to be ready to change the game based on your hand, and he'd just been dealt one hell of a hand. Alex took a deep breath, lifted Patrick from Mrs. Tyler's lap, and then knelt in front of her. Holding on to the boy to make sure he wouldn't run away, Alex looked her in the eye.

"I've never told this to anyone, but the boy has a gift. He can see the dead like they were standing right in front of him, and he can talk to them. I've caught him talking to his mother, more than once. First I thought he was just playing make-believe, but the things he said, there's no way they could have been told by anyone but my wife." He held her gaze, trying to seem as sincere as possible. "He's never spoken to a stranger before. Your husband must have an important message to pass on to try to talk to you through Patrick."

Mrs. Tyler stood up, and then carefully knelt on the floor next to Alex in front of Patrick. "Is it true? Is- is Michael here? Can you really see him?"

Patrick looked Alex, and after making sure that Mrs. Tyler's attention was entirely on the boy, Alex nodded vigorously, hoping that Patrick would catch the hint. Following his father's example, Patrick gave a hesitant nod.

Mrs. Tyler covered her mouth, tears spilling from her eyes as she pulled the boy into a hug. "Oh. Oh, Michael, oh I've missed you so much."

Patrick's lips trembled as he tried to pull away from the woman's arms, obviously upset by her sudden emotional outburst.

"Why sad?" He whispered, almost at the verge of tears himself.

"I'm not sad, honey, I'm crying because I'm happy," she said, compulsively petting Patrick's hair as she held him. Finally she pulled away, holding him at an arm's length to better look at him. "Do you want me to do this, Michael? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

When Patrick looked at Alex, he nodded again, prompting the boy to do the same. Mrs. Tyler held the boy's gaze for a moment longer before letting him go. Patrick immediately ran across the room, hiding behind a chair. Mrs. Tyler took a deep breath and closed her eyes before standing up.

"Three thousand dollars, that's how much you wanted, wasn't that right, Mister Jane?"

Alex tried to keep his expression neutral, even though he felt like grinning in triumph. "Yes, that's right. Thank you. You will not regret this."

She gave him a silent nod and pulled out her cheque book, filling one out. She remained silent as she gave it to Alex, not saying a word until she began to gather the rest of her papers. "If Michael is still here, tell him that I love him, and that I miss him terribly."

Alex gently touched her arm. "I'm sure he can hear you."

"Thank you, Mister Jane. And Patrick. Thank you." She gave them both one final smile and then left the room, closing the door after her.

Alex waited until he was certain that she wasn't close enough to hear before turning to his son.

"You little bastard. How the hell did you do that?"

Patrick's eyes widened in terror and he dropped down to his hands and knees and crawled backwards under the table, clearly expecting to be hit. Alex crouched down on the floor and reached under the table to pull the boy out by the scruff of his neck, but then stopped. One of the papers that had been on the table had fallen on the floor, forgotten by Mrs. Tyler when she'd gathered her things. Alex stared at the name of Mrs Tyler's husband printed on the utility bill. He grabbed the paper and showed it to Patrick.

"What does that say?"

Patrick 's face scrunched up in concentration as he traced the letters with his finger.

"Ut-il-it-ies."

Alex laughed.

"You sneaky little son of a bitch. You can read already, can't you? I knew you had to be smarter than you look."

"Ut-il-it-ies!" Patrick repeated, laughing and preening like he'd just invented an exciting new game.

Alex ruffled Patrick's hair and smiled.

"Paddy, my boy, you're going to make us rich."

  



End file.
